MG Midget - 60th Anniversary

Happy Birthday! MG Midget...celebrating its 60th Anniversary....after 18 months of rumours, it was finally announced at the beginning of June 1961 and launched at the end of that month.

The Midget Mk1 when it was launched in 1961 was priced at £669 15s 10d and Autocar magazine commented that "This new MG is an endearing little car" in their road test in August 1961.

By the 1960s, the MG Car Company had become one of many marques absorbed into the British Motor Corporation (BMC). To fully capitalise on the many respected names in its ownership, BMC started a programme of 'badge engineering'. The new MG Midget was essentially a deluxe version of the MKII Austin-Healey “Frogeye” Sprite (launched in ‘58) in a slightly different body, but with the same 948cc A Series engine. Performance figures of 0-60 in 18.3s and a top speed of 87.9mph.

By naming the new small sports car 'Midget', BMC revived a name made famous by a range of pre-war MG’s. The first car with the Midget name was the MG M Type Midget (1929-1932). The M-Type was one of the first sports cars by an established manufacturer that could be purchased for a reasonable price. The “Midget” name was also used on the later D, J and T Types.

In October 1962, the A Series engine was increased to 1098cc. This engine was also shared with the Morris Minor, amongst others. In total, over 25,000 MkI MG Midgets were produced - 16,080 with a 948cc engine and 9601 with the 1098cc.

In 1964 the Mark 2 was launched. This model benefitted from a number of relatively minor modifications. By the end of its run in ‘66, 26,601cars had been sold.

In 1966 the Mk3 was launched with the famous twin-carb 1275CC version of the A-Series. It was almost a carbon copy of the engine found in the Mini Cooper S, although pared down to 65hp compared to 75hp in the Mini, thanks to lower compression and smaller valves. The engine was de-tuned to ensure it was slower than the more expensive MGB.

In 1969, the Midget benefitted from a facelift with a number of modifications. This model then continued until 1974. Between 1966 and ‘69, 22,415 were made, and a further 77,831 up to 1974.

In 1974, the US introduced a raft of safety and emissions-led changes. For the Midget Mk4 that meant it was fitted big rubber bumpers and a cleaner 1500cc Triumph engine which also powered the sleeker looking Triumph Spitfire. A modified 4 speed Morris Marina gearbox was also part of the update. The styling of the body was tweaked a little too. After introducing rounded rear wheel arches in 1972, the design team brought back the square wheel arches to comply with safety guidelines (increasing body strength). The oversized rubber bumpers were universally disliked - many considered them ugly. The ride height had to be increased to accommodate them, and this also adversely affected the handling. Performance figures – 0-60 12s and top speed around 100mph.

The final Mk4 version of the Midget ceased production in 1979. The last car was made on 7 December 1979 with the final 500 UK cars produced in black. A total of 73,899 Mk4’s had been produced.

The Autocar road test of the Mk1 Midget from the 18th August 1961 can be viewed on this link http://www.spridgetguru.com/Autocar081861.html